


For a Few Nuances of Harmony

by SpaceMacgyver



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Apocalypse, Brotherhood, Gen, Philosophy, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:22:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29685303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceMacgyver/pseuds/SpaceMacgyver
Summary: What would you do if you everything you knew disappeared and chaos took the upper hand?Alyssa is a young vixen among others, living a normal life in a rather normal world....until that day when everything collapsed. That day when utopia became dystopia. That day when the notion of society completely disappeared.
Kudos: 2





	1. The Decaying City

_ Zootopia….16 years after the end of the night howler crisis….2 years and six months after the  _ incident _ …. _

  


A young vixen wakes up in the middle of the debris of a collapsed building, half concrete, half wooden planks with what was left of a living room. She rubs her fur and clothes, completely covered by dust coming from the ceiling, or at least what was left of it. She slowly gets up and stretches herself with a long yawn. 

The space she was sleeping in used to be an apartment, but now it looked more like an abandoned house that spent decades untouched. The remnants of walls were either burst open, scattered, or cracked, with no surviving windows. The floor was covered in dust, broken furniture, and debris from all the various parts of the room, would that be planks from the ceiling, parts of the walls, half a door, or glass fragments. The overall space was dark and cold at this time of the year, the only rays of light able to illuminate this shelter were coming in between the openings, emphasized by the dust floating in the air.

She slowly walks in between the fragile planks of the floor, some of them being dangerously damaged, missing or gone completely. As she approaches a large opening in the wall, she lowers and lays down on the debris of that wall, offering herself some cover.

“Morning miss!” a goat launched from a nearby spot, rifle in the paw, and laying down as well.

“Hey, Chris! had a good night?” she answered while laying on her back to reload a sniper rifle.

“Pretty clam tonight, I hope it stays that way…”

“Oh c’mon! you wanna sit there and do nothing all day?! How boring!” she smiled

He smiled back

“We’ll move if things stay this way, I don’t wanna get killed”

“Hopefully it will… I’m getting tired of sleeping in debris! When we were in the countryside, there were at least some barns with hay to sleep more comfortably!” she continued while cleaning her weapon

“What did you expect?! We’re in what used to be downtown, and it’s the only way out.”

“Let’s hope we’re out as soon as possible, Connor is still looking for us and he won’t stop until he finds us, dead or alive…”

“Yeah…” 

The vixen reloaded her rifle and armed it, but as she was about to take her position, she noticed her partner looking thoughtfully above the debris’ barricade. 

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing… it’s just… look at that...”

The vixen climbed up and laid down to only let her head poke out of their cover.

What was in front of them was desolation: the sky was dark of various dust and smoke, no cloud could be seen. Downtown Zootopia was nothing but a large desolate wasteland, full of decaying buildings and streets, the once most impressive and modern-looking parts of the city were no more. Multiple fires and their smoke could also be seen in the distance. The climate walls didn’t exist anymore, barely staying up despite the major damage they had endured, meaning all the different districts had drastically changed: no more desert, rainforest, or tundra. All that was steeped in a distant yet overwhelming fighting cacophony made up of machine guns bursts, explosions, rifles shootings, and war vehicle movements.

All that desolation could be seen on tens if not hundreds of kilometers around their spot, on top of a hill. 

She sighed, looking at her partner

“Zootopia was the city in which  _ everyone can be anything _ … that’s what my parents and their parents fought for and spent their lives building. May God help us ending all this,” Chris continued, making the sign of the cross.

“Everyone can be anything… including dead!” she joked.

“I’m not kidding Alyssa… it really hurts to see that…” he said with a sad tone.

She sighed again, looking ashamed.

“What can you say? Mammals always make the same mistakes… they can’t use their brains...” 

She paused, trying to fill the silence of her friend but she simply couldn’t, it wasn’t something she was good at so she tried to change the subject

“Anyway! Everything will be over when we’ll be out of this bullshit.”

He smiled slightly. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not harmed, and as long as the Providence will be on our side, we’ll be united to get outta here.”

Alyssa smiled

“Now, let’s kick some asses!” she launched while grabbing her weapon

“Hold on a sec…” he stopped her with his arm 

She looked at him in confusion

“Just kidding!” he laughed, “Go little fox!”

She jumped and slid on the debris, followed by Chris. They kept going until arriving in the decaying streets of the once-great city.

\--------------------

  


As the middle of the morning slowly arrived and fights were intensifying, the acolytes walked slowly, lowered behind abandoned vehicles, and being focused on every step they took.

Chris, a 4-feet tall white goat with black marks surrounding his eyes, was first. He had short horns compared to others of the same species as opposed to a much larger beard. He carried an MP5 submachine-gun in case anyone surprised them and was wearing a military camouflage outfit with boots and a large backpack where he had everything they needed.

Alyssa was behind with her sniper rifle in her back, holding a Glock 19 in her right paw. She was a swift fox in her early twenties with Amber eyes and a light brown fur, greyish on her head and white on her chin and neck. She was slightly shorter than Chris. Unlike her friend, most of her clothes weren’t meant for a young vixen like her, or for fighting in general, but it was all she managed to get: a leather jacket, a once-white shirt, and military pants with many pockets to store some material. She also managed to craft herself some decent shoes with old boots, duct tape, stuffing, and a rope. She carried a bag over the shoulder that was nothing more than an old gas mask’s bag, on the strap was her gun’s hosler and another small storing pocket. 

They moved slowly inside the decaying street, walking over debris and large chunks of collapsed buildings. fighting seemed to have moved out of this part of the city: silence was overwhelming.it wasn’t relaxing calm, though… calm is the worst thing they could experience here. They laid down behind a burnt van.

“What’s going on?” Alyssa whispered.

“it’s quiet…” Chris answered bending slightly over the edge. “...too quiet” 

A bullet suddenly rebounded on the vehicle and he threw himself back behind.

Alyssa had already drawn her rifle and crawled under the van, looking for the enemy with a keen yet discreet look from under the vehicle 

She installed her rifle on firing position and swept the horizon with her scope. The sniper had missed that previous shot but she could be next and dead if she didn’t spot him first: it was him or her. 

A flash drew her attention, it was caused by the reflection of another scope: it was him. She immediately aimed at him, waiting for a cleared space. She paused for a few minutes but the occasion finally came: a sheep suddenly woke up, trying to fall back. 

Alyssa shot.

The loud detonation echoed in the whole area, as if it was thunder. It only took a brief instant to take out what life has spent decades building.

Her prey heavily fell on the ground, without a sound, without pain and not even knowing what had happened to him. He was just there, laying on the ground, lifeless and not part of this world anymore.

“Rest in peace you bastard” she sighed while raising her head from the scope and reloading. She took another look around to see if anyone else was here but  there was nothing but silent debris around . 

She pulled herself out and joined back with Chris, still on his guard.

“You got him?”

She smiled. “I never miss!” 

“You used to!” he teased, trying to soothe a tense atmosphere.

She smiled for a brief moment until she heard some distant footsteps and indicated the goat not to speak. “We’re not alone!” she whispered, “his friends are coming!”

“In the building! Quick!!” He indicated the building behind: a former bar with broken storefronts. 

They both jumped inside, making sure no one had seen them…

The establishment was in the same state as their last shelter, which made it easier for them to hide. The goat layed down under the former window while the fox hid behind the remnants of the counter.

An army made up of only prey species quickly gathered around the corpse and investigated the area.

“Find and execute them!” someone yelled

Chris played dead while Alyssa pulled out her handgun and slowly armed it, making sure not to make any noise. She then quietly leaned to the side of the counter to see what they were doing.

They were at least 50, no chance for them to survive any attack; they needed to flee and more importantly, do it fast and cautiously.

She tried to give Chris a sign to catch his attention but he was too busy doing nothing to give a single look in her direction.

She decided to act alone: She crawled, walking on all fours. It made her smile: how ironic considering their ancestors used to gambol like that some billion years ago. She didn’t know what to think about it, was it a return to the roots? or a major step back in civilization? Maybe it was both considering her current situation. 

She sneaked between the debris, using the advantage of her quiet paw pads and supple body to avoid everything that could make any noise. She went to the former kitchen, a devastated place like every single square meter in this city, it didn’t surprise her anymore. She looked for anything among the debris that could help them escape.

She buried a bit and felt something interesting below a girder. She grabbed it and quickly pulled it out, a ring fell on the ground with a light metallic resonating sound. She looked at what she had in her paw: a grenade of which she had just pulled the pin out.

She froze in terror for an instant but quickly regained control, looking for a spot to throw it, but the room was too small., Seeing that she didn’t have enough time, she ran back to the counter she used to hide behind and threw it outside, on the enemies they were trying to avoid…

She threw herself on the ground, paws to protect her head.

The grenade exploded in a deafening sound that echoed throughout the area, projecting many screaming mammals in different directions and destroying what was left of the bar’s room. A large fog of dust filled the air.

Alyssa opened her eyes and woke up, the counter was the only thing that had survived the explosion. But the worst part was to come….many enemies had spotted her and were starting to shoot.

Someone suddenly grabbed her by the collar and pulled her towards the room she found the grenade in.

Once inside, she turned around: it was Chris, covered in dust and still coughing a bit.

“Help…” he coughed “me!” he launched while pointing at a door on the other side of the kitchen she didn’t spot earlier.

They both ran and hit the obstacle with all of their strength, breaking it completely. They stumbled a bit but quickly resumed their run, the enemies still on their heels.

They ran through a wooden stair that felt like it could collapse at any moment.

Once up, they realized they were trapped, all of the exits were guarded. 

“Shit….” the vixen gromeled

“We need an idea….QUICK!” The goat launched as he was trying to break the stairs to prevent anyone from coming up.

Alyssa looked around; apart from the debris, many storage wooden boxes were here, probably hundreds. She took her gun and shot the lock of one of them to open it. It was full of alcohol bottles, probably around 50 per box. She seemed to have an idea and looked for something else. It didn’t take her long to find it: a rag.

“Ready for a nice campfire?!” she yelled as Chris started to open fire on their pursuits that managed to approach even more.

“Whatever you like! but QUICK !!” 

She opened a bottle, spilled half of it on the ground, inserted the rag inside and took her lighter. 

“CHRIS!”

“WHAT?” he answered, taking a quick look at her

“RUN!!!!!”

As soon as he saw what she was doing, he stopped and ran to the nearest exit.

She lit the rag and threw it on the ground that instantly caught fire and spread to the whole floor, the alcohol was doing his job: from the floor, the fire spread to the curtains and the different wooden parts of the room, including all the boxes. She ran and shot at some of them to make the bottle explode inside and let even more fuel spill on the ground and amplify the destruction. Soon some boxes exploded, releasing a violent blazing blast that made the whole stage tremble and even made parts of the floor collapse, with all of the things standing on it: inflaming the stage below, it took only a few seconds for the full building to be inflamed. The stairs soon collapsed, making all of their trapped opponents fall in the scalding flames with terrified screams.

Alyssa didn’t wait for her turn and ran out, lowering to avoid the flames and their gases.

She followed Chris on his way out, he had finally found an exit without enemies...but it led to a river about 50 meters down... 

However, they didn’t have the time to think more: the building exploded into a deluge of fire and debris, she and Chris were thrown out with an amazing violence. 

She was so stunned that she didn't even realize what had happened until she hit a hard surface and lost consciousness.


	2. Countdown

_ 3 years ago _

_ h -6 _

A bright new day was rising on Zootopia. It foreshadowed a nice and warm day of September, even though it was the  _ back to school _ period for many students. Whatever happened and no matter how bad the situation was, the mayor had insisted on it in his last speech: kids needed to go back to school: to socialize and have equal opportunities. Would that be preys or preds, from any species or gender. Equality, however, stopped at the school gate.

Alyssa woke up in her hovel, it wasn’t big, dirty, uncomfortable, and really old but it was everything she could dream of, especially in these times of crisis. She could consider herself lucky to have a roof. She forced her old blinds to open them and did all her morning routine: prepared herself, got dressed with her best clothes: black jeans, a white tee-shirt and a jeans jacket. It seemed simple but few were lucky enough to have that, and wearing something more fancy would have been way too dangerous. She then had breakfast, even though it consisted of a simple slice of brioche and a glass of milk. But, again, she could consider herself lucky to have something to eat every day. 

She then left her apartment and closed her door. The corridors of the building were insalubrious. she always wondered how the construction still managed to hold.

She took some really old and cracking wooden stairs. Carefully looking at every step she took to not wedge one of her feet in one of the numerous holes or step on the more fragile planks that would make her get through the floor. It already happened to her once so she didn’t want to re experience it.

Once out of the stairs, she took a deep breath and carefully opened the big door of the whole building. That door made the whole building tremble: every time it was opened or closed it felt like everything was about to collapse.

Once out, she closed it as cautiously and finally breathed.

“Here we go again...no matter how deep in the hole we are…” she sighed.

She left the door, walked into the small concreted courtyard and opened an old rusted gate that made a horrible grinding noise, especially after this night’s humidity. 

A graved plate attached above read:  _ St Pierre’s orphanage.  _ Alyssa had read it enough times to not bother looking again.

She engaged herself in the calm street but she knew it was just an impression. These last few had years transformed that  _ normal _ city into an unsecure one. Attacks had increased exponentially so any walk inside the city was dangerous. She could be assaulted at any moment for her clothes, her money or….worse.

That was why she always carried her father’s gun, a Glock-19, that was the only thing she’d inherited from him. Though she didn’t have any license for that, she didn’t care: the city’s administration was collapsing and the government was inefficient. They were supposed to bring back stability, but all they’ve done was make the situation worse…

She approached a group of homeless mammals, some begging her for money while others were giving her a dirty look.

_ Keep walking and don’t look at them. _

Even if she didn’t show it, seeing that misery was touching her. But she knew she couldn't do anything, she didn’t have the money herself. She also knew that the threatening mammals could attack her at any moment for various reasons: having clothes, money, being a predator, being a female or simply passing by in the wrong place at the wrong time. So she was always ready to pull out her gun, shoot her aggressor and run away. 

Such behaviors seemed horrible but it had become something usual. Around 50 mammals died everyday like that, would that be victims or aggressors. The police had the same efficiency as the administration in managing these cases so the survival of the fittest had become the norm.

She arrived at a bus stop right when the long and old vehicle stopped: it was half rusted, dirty and dented, some windows had been broken or shattered. It had likely been thrown rocks at. The engine was loud and the tailpipe released a thick black exhaust. 

She got on board and asked for a ticket.

The driver, an aardvark asked her for the money.

“Will be 25 $”

The vixen raised an eyebrow, half surprised

“It was 20 the other day…” she said in a slightly aggressive tone 

“'I do not dictate prices. Come in or get out...”

She unwillingly handed her 25 bucks and jerked her ticket from his paw: he could have been more polite. She walked in and took a seat in that seedy vehicule:

No security belts, squeezed or missing seats, traces of different body fluids, moldes all around the walls and an overhauled putrid atmosphere.

The bus was mostly empty, obviously because of the price, things kept on getting more expensive while mammals kept on getting poorer.

She stopped breathing with her nose to avoid puking, it was already a health inspector's worst nightmare.

The bus finally started, direction : the city center. She’ll feel a bit more secured there than in that crazy suburb.

She looked at her watch: 7:30 am. She was on time, she didn’t want to be late on her 12th grade’s first day, even though it meant work again. But she didn’t care as long as it meant doing something, doing something that won’t focus on all that bullshit of a situation they were all in.

She looked outside, focusing on the city center’s buildings, the only ones that were in the same state than before the crash. She started to day dream, being nostalgic about the past.

\-------------------

_ Gnu York, Savanna central, 8 am  _

_ h -5 _

The bus finally stopped in front of her School, the school that everyone surprisingly wanted to go back to. The parents and their kids were sharing the same point of view for once, usually there would have been a fight between them but not this time...Even though everything had started 3 years ago, that last year had been agitated...the political instability, growing unrest and more and more assasination attempts. Everyone was talking about a recent one, which happened just 3 days ago. It was among that insecurity that people were trying to live...not live….survive. It was why school seemed to be the only raft in that ocean of despair: offering food to the kids while helping them to think about other things.

She approached the gate, it was just like every back to school day: filled with many families of different species hugging their sons and daughters of all ages, from 6 to 18. It was a love bubble in the middle of a hate world.

She sighed tough as memories came back to her...memories of her and her father coming to that same gate when he was still here….

She bapped her thoughts, knowing it would bring her mood down, life was enough of a fight to think about the past.

She made her way in, approached the entrance to see what her class was and took its direction. She walked in the long crowded walls of her good-old school. They actually were in a far better state than most of the city. It was as if they weren’t in Zootopia anymore, as if nothing had happened.

She stopped in front of her locker and opened it, taking some stuff from it and was surprised when someone knocked on the other side of her door. She moved it to see who it was.

A blue-eyed siberian Husky wearing a blue and white plaid shirt with blue jeans was standing behind it.

“Hey, Alyssa…” he started, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

The vixen gave him a look of anger and resumed what she was doing.

“Don’t bother apologize again, that won’t change anything,” she emotionlessly said.

“Alyssa...it’s been 2 months, we can’t keep on ignoring each other.”

“Why not?” she sarcastically smiled. “I like being alone!”

She took some books between her arms and slammed the door closed with her foot. She locked it again and resumed her walk in the corridors, the husky however kept on following her.

“Ok...you wanna hear it?! I’m a coward, a stupid egoist that didn’t even considered what you could think but..”

The vixen suddenly stopped. “But WHAT?!” she almost yelled “Sami, did you think you could just come back as if nothing happened? With what I had to go through?! You know I’m not the type of girl who complies for anything but...I trusted you! I thought we were living something! something real!”

“It couldn’t have continued like that anyway...” he looked at his feet, ashamed “I messed up, my problems, my family and this bullshit of a crisis!”

“Don’t hide your fault behind the crisis! why do you always have to be like that?!” 

The husky didn’t say anything, he was understanding but didn’t know how to answer.

She regained her calm “Anyway….I don’t care, I just wanna….move on.”

“Hey…” He grabbed her paw to stop her. “I don’t want to lose you….maybe we can’t be together but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves…” He looked at her in the eyes, his sight was sincere “Alyssa…”

“You should have watched your words then...” she codly added while freeing herself from his grip and continuing alone towards her classroom, not taking a look back.

\-----------------

_ 12 pm _

_ h -1 _

Alyssa entered the cafeteria which was the largest and most “luxurious” room the whole school. And by luxurious, everyone meant in a good state: in a pre-crisis state.

She advanced, looking for a seat. She was about to sit alone when a voice called her from an isolated table.

“Alyssa! over here!”

The vixen looked in the direction of the call and spotted a hare waving at her with enthusiasm.

The vixen smiled for the first time of her day and almost ran to her; She was a white-furred hare with hazel eyes. She was really tall for most bunnies but it was her species’ standard, she was easily reaching Alyssa’s chest, even without her ears. 

“Rachel! it’s been so long! how you doing?” She asked while sitting at the table and opening her lunch box.

“Nice! and you? had a nice summer?” Rachel answered between two mouthfuls. 

“More or less, worked a bit” the vixen answered as she was starting to eat as well.

“Oooh what did you do?” She asked, interested

“Some...street jobs...”

The hare suddenly stopped what she was doing, her nose being the only moving part of her body, and gave her a shocked look with her bulging eyes.

“Oh my….don’t tell me you…”

The vixen burst out laughing.

“Noooooo! not THAT!” she took a second to breathe “...you and your ideas!”

The hare joined her in her laugh and they couldn’t stop for 2 minutes.

Once they finally managed to, the vixen continued.

“And you? what were you up to?”

“I also sold some...flour” she winked.

The vixen smiled and raised her eyebrows to answer her.

“Yeah...I guess there’s no issue about it anymore”

“It paid well though: I did that during the night, near the city center, it was spooky! You never know what’s hiding in the shadows. I actually almost got caught by the cops but I was lucky to know these old streets like my pocket!”

“Yeah...I’m actually curious now! who hired you? And what were the contract’s modalities?”

“Sure! I can write you his name and address, I know he’s at his office during the day, maybe you could visit him tonight around 6 PM, just don’t be caught!”

The vixen nodded as a short silence breakout as both of her were eating. 

“And how you and Sami are doing?” the hare resumed

It was the wrong question, at the wrong moment. Alyssa turned from happiness to anger within a second. She wanted to just leave now but Rachel didn’t know, she had the right to.

She took a deep breath.

“Sami and I broke up….”

The hare looked surprised.

“Oh...I’m….what happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it….just know that...he was a jerk”

“I see...didn’t you see him today, he’s in my class”

“I  _ saw  _ him, always trying to apologize as if it was something usual!”

“Well, I guess it’s not really the time to talk about him…”

“You can talk with him if you want, but I won’t”

“You know he’s gonna harass me into giving out stuff about you right?”

“Well...if he does, then call me and I’ll punch him so hard that he’ll only be able to eat soup for the rest of his life!” 

“Whoa! let’s just...chill a bit..” Rachel laughed.

“On a more positive note...how’s that adoption process going?”

The vixen turned from happiness to what could have been the most serious look possible.

“Well….I actually got to talk to them a bit...even though they are planning a weekend together to know me better”

“Shouwdz noice!” the hare added, mouthful.

“But I dunno if I should...they’re...kinda known….”

Rachel stopped eating.

“Why not? who are they?”

Alyssa hesitated but finally let it out.

“Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde….” she whispered.

“OH MY GOSH!” The hare launched as the vixen violently indicated her to lower the tone.

“Are you freaking serious?! that’s awesome! you NEED to accept!” she screamed on a lower tone.

“Like I said, they’re known….and I don’t want to end up in the spotlights…”

“Oh come on! who cares?!”

“Me.”

Rachel released a sigh of exasperation.

“Alyssa...you spent 2 years totally alone,only being able to count on yourself...and now that you finally have an opportunity to end it….will you just sacrifice it?”

The vixen was looking at her, half thoughtful, half sad.

“You’re probably right…” she paused some time, thinking about everything that adoption meant to her. On one paw, it would mean the end of her misery, of her...emptiness, she could live something new and start off again...but on the other end, it will change her, and she didn’t want to. She never wanted to change, even after her misfortune, even after what she had to live.

She finally sighed.

“I think I’ll accept, I’ve nothing to lose…”

“That’s a wise decision!”

Alyssa nodded, even though she was still hesitant.

“Anyway…” she looked at her watch “Dam...already 12:45! I guess now’s time to go back to our respective classes”

"Yeah, good luck to handle the mix of boring courses and digestion: the key of sleeping”

“Yeah!” she smiled “See you later!” 

“See ya!” The hare waved.

She didn’t know It yet, but it was the last she’d get to see her...

\-----------------

  
  
  
_ H -0 _

_ 1 PM _

A special edition interrupted the usual ZNN news broadcast. No one had any idea of what this could be. Such editions, however, were so rare and usually scheduled in advance that everyone knew it couldn’t be good.

A live image from the richly decorated mayor’s office displayed on all the city’s screens, on all the channels, on every media….

Liam Latran, a coyote, chairman of the city hall himself was sitting still at his desk.The ultimate official of Zootopia was preparing to tell what he had to. His discomfort could be felt from behind the screen. Yet, his eyes were full of determination as opposed to all his past speeches.

He took a deep breath and started with a voice full of conviction.

"Citizens! 

I address you during this turning point in history for our nation. I address you not only as a city mayor, but as a father, brother, friend, as a servant of our beloved country. Our beloved homeland, homeland on which many generations of mammals worked in the sweat of their brows found itself on the verge of total collapse and chaos. Everything that we, as a society, built up, every achievement ensuring peace between prey and predators we made found itself on the brink of complete annihilation.

We tried really hard to pull Zootopia out of the crisis. We tried really hard to ensure that every mammal, no matter its species, height or background can live together in peace. We tried to take back this city to the state before the Nighthowler crisis. And we managed to make a significant progress in it. Progress to the Zootopia that I know from my childhood, that every citizen that was born before the crisis knows from his childhood. We tried to achieve this the best we could.

During our hard work, however, the dark forces of zootopia were not asleep. From the  _ Blue Shirts _ , the _ Green Army _ , to the recent insubordination of the 3rd army division we can all clearly see all of the forces, lurking in the shadows. The  _ fifth column _ , the  _ dissidents _ , working against what we want to achieve, against the better Zootopia. They dwell in chaos, trying to get as much power as they can, exactly like Dawn Bellwether did 14 years ago.

There comes a point, where it has to be said 'enough'! It has to be said enough to the dissidents roaming the country and destabilizing it from within. It has to be said enough about the deception of others by their destructive ideology. It must be said enough of misery, of poverty, of hunger. We can't allow these dissidents to continue to roam through the streets and confuse the reality with their ideology. For let them know that any destruction they create will be answered a thousandfold. Any hand of a traitor that raises his hand against the rightful row will be chopped off. I call for them to turn on thinking and walk out of the way of the fratricidal fight.

Citizens!

Hard times are ahead of us. But with our joint work, with our neighbourly help, we shall bounce Zootopia off the bottom and rise to the heights of prosperity we have never seen before. That is why, with agreement with the City Senate, starting from today, I announce the introduction of the Martial Law on the area of the entire country.

Know that the rightful government of Zootopia will not succumb. That we shall not give up under any circumstances. 

That we. shall never. surrender!

Long live Zootopia!”

Time seemed to have stopped, for everyone. Alyssa was stunned. Probably as much as her whole class since no one had spoken again and a tomb’s silence was filling the classroom. 

Her teacher, a gazelle, switched the TV off and slouched in her chair.

All the students would have laughed at this unexpected reaction in normal time, but now the last remains of “normality” were gone.

“Well, guys….you’re all free to go...I won’t finish this lecture today…” she almost whispered. Emotion could be heard in her voice, a mix of fear and sadness.

Without any word, everyone left the room. Alyssa, as always, was the last to cross the door’s enclosure, she took a look back to only see her teacher leaning forward, face between the paws, probably sobbing. 

It made her sad though, so she preferred to leave instead of trying anything, she was good at it…..

She made her way out of the school. Many students were gathering, trying to understand what had happened and discussing it. However, it wasn’t something she liked, she had never been good with others, her number of friends in her entire life could be counted on a single paw. She also meant most of her time alone since...it was her nature. 

She stepped out of the school’s enclosure and looked at the outside world. 

She stopped for a second,closing her eyes and started to breath deeply. __

_ Inhale, hold, exhale. it’s over now. _

It was a sunny day, but the atmosphere was strange; everything was beautiful: the warm rays of light, the reflections, the colors. It made her feel good and brought her some memories.

_ “Daddy! I got him! Did you see that?! I got him!” _

_ “YES that’s good sweetheart! PULL! PULL!” _

_ The fishing rod was so stretched that it had an upside down U’s shape. A really young vixen, probably 6-year-old was holding the tool with some help from her father, an older, grey-furred swift fox with pale green eyes. They were fishing in a small lake, inside a bubble of greenery far from any city or village, totally untouched. The rays of the early sun’s light were starting to heat up the area, reflecting themselves in the grass’s dew and the water’s surface. It was their place: between the oak trees, the lake, the wheat fields and the summer’s sun. _

_ “Come on Alyssa! you almost got ‘im!” _

_ The vixen pulled the device with all of her strength, she really tried, but the fish found his way out still. _

_ “Noooooooo!” she yelled, dropped the rod and kicked the water in frustration. “…...I had him!”  _

_ Her father looked at her and smiled.“Don’t worry, sweetheart...you may have missed him today but he’ll be back and that time you’ll catch him!” _

_ “You always say that!” she complained with that cute voice any kid makes when they’re upset. _

_ “You gotta keep trying! No one manages to get something done successfully on the first try,  _

_ that’s what learning is for.” Her father’s comforting face made Alyssa smile. _

_ An engine’s sound brought her out of her reverie, she could recognize that sound among many. _

_ “Daddy!” she yelled in excitement, “that’s them! they’re coming! Can I see? can I see? please! please say yes!” _

_ “Yeah, sweetheart” he laughed “yeah!” _

_ She ran like a lunatic inside the forest for a few minutes, towards the nearest field enclosure, arriving just in time to see a light airplane landing on the near airfield’s runway. _

_ She was staring at them, fascinated, with a beaming smile in the middle of her face. She knew them all: that one was a Tb20gt, that one a Cessna and that one an AWS 20!  _

_ However she knew she couldn’t come get it just yet, she needed to be patient and, maybe one day, she could be inside, as the pilot. But something now came to her mind, something that she needed to tell her father, something that she hadn't told him yet. _

_ The older fox had just arrived, almost out of breath as opposed to her daughter. _

_ “Daddy?”  _

_ “Yeah?”  _

_ “Will you be sad if I fly away like them one day? ” she looked at her feet. “but I’ll be coming back sometimes…” _

_ He knelt in front of her and grabbed her paws, looking at her in the eyes. _

_ “Ooooh sweetheart, I’ll be more than honored to see my little butterfly take her flight.” he smiled, “Just remember that we’ll always be together no matter where each other will be, okay? No matter the distance, we will always be together.”  _

__ _ “Always!” she launched with a military salute. _

_ He responded with the same gesture and they resumed their walk along the field’s enclosure. _

_ Always……  _ __

  
  
  
She opened her eyes, realising that they were wet. She dried them quickly and resumed her walk towards a bus stop and searched her pocket for the ticket she bought this morning.

But the military were already here, a massive Rhino and a Lion, both heavily equipped, were preventing anyone from entering a street or taking the bus.

She shyly approached.

“Eh….excuse me sir….When is the bus coming?”

“Sorry Ma’am, the city services are temporarily suspended” the rhino answered emotionlessly, just like an order.

The vixen clearly showed her disappointment

“For how long? I don’t live here”

“We don’t know for now, All I can advise you is walking, you’ll likely find anyone that could bring you home.” the Lion answered on a kinder tone and with some empathy.

“Alright, have a good day sir…” 

The vixen walked away, swearing

“Great! I’ll have to walk….fuc….” 

She was interrupted by a person showing up in her field of vision. Someone, familiar…....

“Oh! hey….what a surprise…” Sami started, surprised

The husky was alone, just like her, maybe that was the reason they used to fit so well together.

“Hey….” the vixen answered with no conviction

She tried to ignore him again and walked away but her energy led her only a few feet away from him. She had enough of this....he may be a coward, an egoist or any jerk that earth could have even created, but he was the only mammal she could consider as a “friend”. Even though he deserved it, she couldn’t continue like that, it was exhausting herself just as much.

“Sami…” she rubbed her face “can we talk a bit?”


End file.
